Back from house hunting in SA

We are back from our trip to South Africa. With a flight of 30 hours from door to door from JFK-Dubai-Johannesburg it was quite the trip! Luckily we had a business flight so we could take a nap. Although we didn't do much napping, so much excitement, a lot to talk about and decission making for us. Dirk is offered a GM position in South Africa for his company. We just heard it 2 weeks ago and they asked us to go on a look-see trip and see if we would like to take the offer. At first we were a little apprehensive about the safety, schooling etc.. But once we were there, we felt much more at peace with everything and now we are really excited about going! The company arranged a relocation company to take us around for 3 days to look at everything from houses, to schools to surroundings. We were very impressed with how cosmopolitan everything looked. The restaurants are superb, the wines are out of this world (it is a wine country) and the variety in the shops is more like Europe than anything else. And the best part is, it is much cheaper!!
So our family is moving to South Africa and Dirk is starting beginning of July with his new job. Very exciting!! It is perfect timing, the girls can finish their school year here, have a summer break and start first grade in SA in August. They will go to an American International school, the curriculum is in English, but above that they will have Spanish and Dutch on top of that. We are thrilled with the school. The bus goes from door to door. No picking up or bringing them, safe and convenient! We already found a new home for us to live in, brand new very modern house with 5 beds/5 bath and a swimming pool in the yard. The house is on a secured estate with playgrounds, tennis courts, clubhouse, restaurant and small parks close to Johannesburg and Midrand, where Dirk will be working. So friends and family, there is enough space for you guys to come and visit us! Start saving for your trip to the Dijkstra family and join us on a safari in the bush with the big 5. It will be a trip of a life time!!

Now we have lots to do on this side; We have 3 months to sell our house here in the NE of the US, put all our furniture in a 40-foot container and move the whole shebang to the other side of the world again! We have done this before, so we know the routine. However it is still a bit daunting, since we have now small children and so much more stuff!!

The only sad thing is to say goodbye to all our dear friends here, we've made some really close connections with some great people. And we have to say goodbye, but luckily there is enough technology available to keep us close!